writers

In my 15 years working at the Library of Congress – my previous stop before AARP – one particular date stands out: Sept. 8, 2001. That was the day of the inaugural Library of Congress National Book Festival. First Lady Laura Bush, herself a former librarian, proposed that we at the Library of Congress organize a literary gathering in Washington, D.C., where authors and readers could connect. The first National Book Festival, similar to the Texas Book Festival that Mrs. …

Oh happy day! On July 14, Harper Lee will release a second, newly discovered novel titled Go Set a Watchman. Now 88, the author is world-famous for her first — and, until now, only — book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Published in 1960, it won the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. The new novel will be published in North America by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. Said Lee in a statement …

We are pleased to announce the 10 finalists in our AARP & Huff/Post50 Memoir Contest. We received thousands of wonderful entries. For those who did not make the cut, we hope to reach out to at least some of you in the coming months to see how we might be able to help tell your stories as well. These 10 finalists have until Dec. 15 to complete their memoirs. Soon after, a winner will be announced. Good luck and thanks …

News, discoveries and … fun 1. Antler makeovers are saving the lives of reindeer in Finland. (Learn more at NBC News) 2. Eating yogurt and avoiding fatty or sugary snacks could cut a diabetes risk nearly in half. (Learn more at AARP) 3. When man and his canine best friend hear emotion in a voice, they respond in similar ways. (Learn more at Daily Mail) 4. Joe Newman is vying to become the oldest U.S. congressman by more than a …

Calling all writers: Could you be the next Frank McCourt, Elizabeth Gilbert or Jeanette Walls – all authors of bestselling memoirs? Here’s your chance to share your life story, win $5,000 and get a book contract. AARP, The Huffington Post and publisher Simon & Schuster have teamed up to hold a national memoir contest. “We’re searching for the next great memoir,” said Myrna Blyth, Editorial Director for AARP Media. “We want to find a gifted writer who can tell a …

Jacques Barzun was one of the great thinkers of the past century – a scholar who, in a remarkable eight-decades-long career, wrote dozens of books and analyzed subjects ranging from classical music to detective fiction, and from Jonathan Swift to baseball. Barzun, who died yesterday in San Antonio at age 104, is best remembered for a book that, amazingly, he published in 2000 at age 92: From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life From 1500 to the …